Time Lords and Teaboys
by Night's Darkness
Summary: Jack brings the Doctor to meet his team after TLOTL, and learns something shocking about the Doctor and Ianto. One-shot gone awry. Pairing: JI of course!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who, 'cause if I did Jack and Ianto would be the Doctor's companions forever!!

This was a one-shot that turned into… something else. I can write more, but I don't know, depends on what you guys want.

* * *

**Time Lords and Teaboys**

"I dunno if that's a good idea Jack." protested The Doctor as he entered the coordinates for the Hub into the TARDIS.

"Oh come on Doctor! I just want you to meet my team. You'll like them. And I know Tosh and Ianto will have a million questions for you." Jack grinned at him from his seat. The Doctor had to admit it was hard to say no to that smile. And he wasn't quite ready to be alone again, now that Martha had gone back to her family.

"Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with meeting the people who are important to you, but I do have an issue with Torchwood."

Jack stiffened and then he stood up, walking over to the Time Lord. There was a very serious expression on his face. One the Doctor had seen far too often while they'd been prisoners of the Master. Jack reached out and pressed his hands down on the Doctor's shoulders in a reassuring manner.

"Doctor, I swear, this team of mine is nothing like the Torchwood you've met. They're a little odd, no question, but I know they are no threat to you. You'll like them. And Ianto will make you the best cup of tea you've ever had."

A strange expression passed over the Doctor's face at the mention of Ianto but it vanished almost at once.

"Oh… oh go on then!" he grinned, that usual mischievous glint in his eyes. Jack's smile broadened and he let go of the Doctor's thin shoulders. "But you'd better be right about that tea!"

"I assure you Doctor, Ianto makes the best coffee and tea in the universe and I would know a bit about that."

"I'm sure." The Doctor pressed the right button and they both grabbed onto the consol to stay standing as the TARDIS brought them to Cardiff. "There we go! Cardiff, specifically, the Hub! A week after you left. Little bit more than you wanted, but I'm sure your team won't mind."

"I'm sure they won't. C'mon Doc!" Jack darted out of the TARDIS with a huge grin on his face.

The first thing Jack saw was Gwen staring open-mouthed at the TARDIS. Then he saw Tosh and Owen standing a little way off, looking equally stunned.

"Jack?" Gwen's voice was tentative, hopeful. It reminded Jack a bit of a little girl asking if he was really Santa.

"Hey there Gwen. Miss me?"

Gwen approached him slowly, searching his face. Then she launched herself at him and crushed him in a hug. Jack laughed and hugged her tight. Then he let her go just in time to catch Tosh as she did the same thing.

"Harkness where the hell have you been? And what the hell is with the Police Box?" demanded Owen as he walked over to Jack. Jack grinned and hugged Owen tight –"What the fuck?!" grunted Owen. Jack couldn't describe how much he'd missed his team over that year that never was. Even Owen who could be the most annoying prat in the world.

"I promise I'll explain everything, but where's Ianto?"

"He's hiding the Archives, like he has since you disappeared." said Gwen, sounding a little sad. Jack felt a twinge of guilt. He knew Ianto was uncertain of his place in Jack's life. And after that kiss… and just taking off like that… oh Jack wanted to kick himself now.

"Well, call him up. Let's see if I can make him jump out of his skin." Jack grinned, hiding his guilt. Besides, this would probably be his only chance to try to scare the crap out of Ianto and actually have a hope of succeeding.

"Oh that won't be necessary sir."

Jack nearly had a heart attack and jumped a foot in the air at the sound of Ianto behind him.

Spinning around, he met the tired expression of Ianto, who was impeccably dressed as usual in a suit.

"Damnit Ianto!" he yelped, before grabbing Ianto and crushing his lips to the younger man's. He'd been dreaming about doing that all through that hellish year. He was just glad the Master hadn't been able to pick up his longing for Ianto to use against him. The very idea of what the Master might have done to Ianto still sent shudders through Jack's body.

Ianto leaned into his kiss, but then shoved Jack away, looking very angry. He said nothing, but the look said it all. It said, 'Stop messing with my head and heart.' Jack felt his own heart thump painfully in remorse.

"Well, this place certainly looks interesting." commented the Doctor. Ianto's eyes widened and he spun around to look at the Time Lord who'd just come out of the TARDIS. Jack wondered what had taken him so long.

"You!" Ianto blurted. "You're the Doctor."

A very bizarre expression passed over the Doctor's face, but then he smiled, "That's me! Hello there." and he waggled his fingers at Ianto. Ianto stared at him, looking rather pale.

"I saw you." he said, trembling just enough for Jack, who was almost pressed against him to notice, "You were at Canary Warf."

The Doctor stiffened and then he nodded, "So were you?" There was great pain in his face as he asked the question. Ianto nodded,

"I was stuck in the middle of it all. You made it stop." Ianto sounded a little dazed. The Doctor nodded. "Thank you."

Jack blinked at the strength of the feelings behind those two small words. The Doctor was unsurprised, only nodded again and then the subject was dropped like a stone.

"Coffee sir?" Ianto fixed him with his most professional look. Jack could only nod, his mouth practically watering at the thought of, not just coffee, but _Ianto's_ coffee. That coffee made him believe in a God at times. "Doctor?"

"I'd rather a cuppa if you didn't mind?"

"Not at all." Ianto gave him a little smile and walked away, disappearing into the small kitchen that contained the ingredients for heaven.

"So where have you been Jack? Why'd you just disappear like that?" asked Gwen. Jack sighed. Oh how to explain this?

"I'll tell you everything once we're settled. You all deserve to hear this. Including Ianto."

Owen rolled his eyes and muttered about 'kissing up to the teaboy', but it seemed to be out of reflex more than anything. Jack didn't reprimand him, but made a mental note to keep an eye on it. The Doctor was staring at the kitchen with an expression that Jack couldn't interpret. What was going on in that eccentric, mad haired head of his? Jack wished he could ask, but he had a feeling he'd get nowhere.

* * *

An hour later, Jack felt his chest expand in a way he couldn't believe. It really did feel like a weight had been lifted off it. He'd pretty much told them everything that he'd told Martha, plus the whole business with Saxon and the fact that he was a Time Agent. Now he was just waiting for three of his team members to pick their jaws up off the ground and the final one to actually change his expression.

The Doctor had been bizarrely quiet, his feet crossed on the table, which had earned him a faint scowl from Ianto as he'd handed out the drinks. However that had vanished when the Doctor had given the tea a 'brilliant!' before wincing at his burnt tongue and pulling an exaggerated face. Ianto had smiled in amusement and the Doctor had given him a wide grin.

Now though, Ianto was staring at Jack with an impassive expression and the Doctor was looking between Jack, his tea and Ianto. Jack, for some reason, was very aware of the bright red colour of the Doctor's shoes as they rested on the table. They stood out a mile in the gloom of the Hub. He looked away from them and saw that Tosh was beginning to compose herself as she stood up. Then she walked over to Jack and smacked him on the arm.

"You dolt!" she scolded, "Why wouldn't you tell us any of this before? Didn't you trust us?"

"Of course I trusted you, but I've spent so long keeping myself a secret it… it's a hard habit to break."

"So it's ok for you to know the ins and outs of our lives but not for us to know a _thing_ about you?" demanded Owen. Jack could feel the retort, 'Well I didn't always know what you lot were up to.' on his lips, but if he said that Ianto would never forgive him.

However, the Gods were not smiling on him today and one look at Ianto told him the young man knew what he was thinking. Better and better.

"Ok, I admit that wasn't fair but-"

"Blimey I like it here." piped up the Doctor, grinning. "Definitely about as far from Torchwood London as you could get. Wouldn't catch any employee there yelling at Yvonne." And he chuckled. Ianto nodded, but remained silent. The Doctor looked at Tosh and his smile vanished in an attempt to look serious, "Sorry, you were all yelling at Jack. Continue." And he took a swig of his tea, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Couldn't you have at least left us a note?" demanded Gwen, her puppy eyes at full strength.

"I thought if I caught the Doctor, I'd be able to say goodbye… oh ok, I didn't think. I'd been waiting over two hundred years for the sound of the TARDIS and then it just happened and I didn't think, ok? The Doctor was never good about his timing, and if it's any consolation, I died trying to get to him, clinging onto the side of the TARDIS through the vortex."

Ianto hissed and winced, apparently the only one who understood what that actually meant. The Doctor threw the young man another weird look, then gave a little half smile into his tea. Then he looked at Jack,

"You must have one hell of a grip to have managed that by the way Jack."

"A desperate grip is a better term I think." said Jack, quirking an eyebrow. What was on the Doctor's mind to have him all shifty like this?

"Either way, you'd better lay of the secret keeping Harkness, or I'll shoot ya again." said Owen, sounding stern. Jack quirked his eyebrow again and then nodded, knowing that Owen didn't mean it, but at the same time, he did.

"For all the good it'll do." muttered the Doctor, rolling his eyes with a fond expression. Jack grinned at his friend. "Now, Jack, you said something about a Pterodactyl?"

"I'll introduce you sir." said Ianto, pushing away from the window, and gesturing for the Doctor to follow him with a slight inclination of his head. The Doctor's grin nearly split his face in two and he all but jumped to his feet. Who'd have expected him to be that eager to meet an overgrown, featherless chicken, as Owen sometimes called the Pterodactyl?

Jack sighed as he watched Ianto lead the Doctor up to the Pterodactyl's nest.

"Well, I've got work to do." grunted Owen, seeming satisfied for now.

"Me too." said Tosh, following him. Gwen lingered.

Jack often wondered if Ianto's comments about Gwen were founded or whether the Welshman was jealous. What Gwen said now only made him more unsure about whether the woman was really _that_ enamoured with him.

"He was really angry with you for running off with that. He was the one who realised what had happened, said he recognised the sound the CCTV recorded. That and you yelled 'Doctor' at the top of your lungs in the Plass."

Jack's lips quirked in amusement, wondering how demented he must have looked tearing across the Plass with his huge bag on his bag containing a hand in a jar and screaming 'Doctor' like he had. Gwen gave him a stern look,

"Ianto needs to know where he stands with you Jack. I see it in his eyes, especially when Owen's feeling especially bitchy. He has no idea whether you even like him. He needs to know that or else… I'm scared that we might realise he's disappeared proper."

Jack felt alarmed by her words and nodded. He wanted nothing more than to corner Ianto and tell him he did care. But seeing as Ianto was avoiding him, he might have to wait a while.

* * *

When Jack had decided to wait a while, he'd been thinking along the lines of a few hours, when the Doctor left and the rest of the team had gone home. However, he hadn't counted on his unpredictable Time Lord staying for a day and manipulating Ianto's time, mainly by demanding to see the Archives and, since Ianto would hang anyone else who went down there, only the gorgeous Welshman could do it. That had kept him occupied for the past… _twenty hours?!_

Jack decided to give Ianto a break and save him from the Doctor for a little while. He hurried down to the Archives and found Ianto had fallen asleep at a table and the Doctor was sitting opposite him, an open folder in his hands and his eyes fixed firmly on Ianto. The look on his face was one Jack knew, but couldn't remember how he knew it. It wasn't the kind of look of desire he might have expected from the way the Doctor had been monopolising Ianto's time. It wasn't a fascination like Ianto was some strange creature that needed to be studied. The gaze was affection, wistful… longing.

"You wore out my tea-boy." said Jack in a scolding tone. The Doctor jumped a mile and looked guilty before plastering his face with a smile.

"Did I? Well, from the looks of it, keeping this place running is a full time job. Would have happened anyway."

"Yeah, been meaning to sort that out. He needs a life outside of this place." Jack tried to sound off-handed.

"He doesn't have a girlfriend or something?" asked the Doctor, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

"Closest thing to that is me and… well, I'm not exactly committed relationship guaranteed. Plus he's mad at me for taking off like that."

The Doctor's expression was just as bizarre as the last one. It was almost protective. Why would he be protective of Ianto? He didn't know him. Did he?

"Are you… do you love him?"

"I have no idea yet. Occasionally, yeah, I think so. But then I think about how, he betrayed my trust by hiding his half-converted Cyberman girlfriend in my basement and then he went against me again with the rest of my team and nearly ended the world."

"And of course, you wouldn't try to save someone you loved if you thought there was half a chance of saving them?" asked the Doctor.

"Hell yeah I would, in a heartbeat. It's not that he tried to save her, I understand that. It's that for a full year he looked me in the eye and lied to me. I thought that we had an understanding between us. I thought we… I don't know what I thought. Quite frankly I couldn't believe that he was able to put up with my flirting and flirt back with me so much that I didn't think about what we had between us."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. Ianto shifted, then jerked as he woke up. His cheeks went a lovely shade of pink as he realised the other two were looking at him.

"Sorry sir. I didn't mean-"

"No, it's ok Ianto. Go home and get some sleep. You look like you could use some. I've got things to talk about with the Doctor."

"Very good sir. Doctor." Ianto nodded to the Doctor who smiled at him, before brushing past Jack without looking him in the eyes. Jack gave him five minutes to go before saying,

"Why don't we go talk in my office? It's a better place."

The Doctor nodded, a knowing look on his face.

Soon they were both seated, and Jack poured them both a glass of scotch. "So… why are you obsessing over Ianto?"

The Doctor winced, "Was I that obvious?"

"Doctor, a mentally-deficient rat could have noticed."

The Doctor grimaced. Jack sighed, "I'm not annoyed, I just wanna know why. I know you're a naturally caring person, but what's going on that you're trying to hide?"

"I guess I should tell you something first." The Doctor downed half his scotch before speaking again, "A long time ago… lifetimes ago really, I had a family. A real one. Wife, two children, daughter and son. I considered myself one of the luckiest Time Lords alive. We travelled in the TARDIS as a family, saving worlds and having fun wherever we went. It was perfect." The Doctor smiled into space, no doubt seeing in his mind's eye his family. Jack leaned forward, eager to hear more. This was not where he'd thought they'd end up. The Doctor frowned then, "But it went bad. My wife was killed, and, and she couldn't regenerate. She'd never told me, I don't know why, but she was on her last incarnation. Been through 12 regenerations. She wasn't much older than me, only a few decades, which is months to us. How she got through them all I'll never know. Either way, she died."

"I'm sorry." said Jack with great feeling.

The Doctor nodded, accepting his words. "My son, who was still pretty young by Gallifreian standards, took it real hard. But life went on, and eventually we were able to function again. We even had fun. Then my daughter fell in love with another Time Lord and got married. Soon I was a grandfather. My son and I continued to travel, couldn't exactly stick around could we? I was a fugitive at the time. Little while on, my granddaughter joined us, although her mother wasn't happy about it. We all travelled together. Around that time we found Earth and started exploring it. My son… he fell in love with humans, with Earth…"

The Doctor fell quiet, staring into his glass, swirling the scotch around. Jack waited for him to continue, but when it looked like he wouldn't Jack prodded him by asking,

"What's this got to do with Ianto? Does he look like your son or something?"

The Doctor lifted his head and then rolled it back as he let out a loud sigh, "This is gonna sound like the biggest cliché in the entire world but… he is my son Jack."

Jack blinked. Jack blinked again. Jack blinked a third time.

"……… what?"

"That young man who you're not sure you're in love with or not is my son."

"That's not possible!" Jack said it almost on top of the Doctor's scolding words. "Ianto's human."

"That's right. He is."

"Then he can't be your son because you're a Time Lord and you said your wife was a Time Lord so your son couldn't be anything but a Time Lord and Ianto's human, therefore he's not your son!" rambled Jack, having a sinking feeling his logic was about to be shattered.

"My son was a Time Lord, but after we came here, he fell in love with Wales. He wanted to explore it, wanted to live in it like a true human would. I wouldn't let him. I told him that it was too risky, what if he wound up in hospital? Having two hearts might've 'caused a few problems. Of course, he had an answer for me. He always did." The Doctor smiled in a wistful manner as he said this last bit. "Always one step ahead of my arguments, always with an answer to everything… my clever, clever boy."

"So… how's Ianto involved exactly?"

"My son's answer was for him to become human, using the same method that the Master used. He trapped himself in a fob watch and became human, with no memories of who he'd once been. He went from being my son to being Ianto Jones, aged 18. I wrote up his memories myself, allowing him to think his whole family had died in a car accident when he was younger and that he'd been placed in various foster homes. Now that he was old enough he was living alone, moving to a new town, a small one in Wales he'd selected himself, and that was how I left him."

"You just agreed like that?" Jack's voice dripped with dubiousness.

"Oh God no! I yelled and he yelled and it was only when he used that damn guilt trip on me that I agreed."

"What was the guilt trip?"

"That wouldn't it be better for me to make him happy than for us to part under bad circumstances since he'd do it anyway. Worked like a charm I can tell you."

"I'll bet." Jack chuckled. But his amusement was trying to hide his complete shock. There was a soft clatter, making them both jump. Jack stood up and looked down into the Hub. Ianto was there, clearing up Owen's desk. He hadn't gone home after all. The Doctor soon joined him and stared down with a forlorn expression.

"How old is he now?"

"26." said Jack, matching the Doctor's soft tones.

"Still so young. But I can see it in his eyes. He's suffered. That wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to have a happy life."

"Hard to have one with Torchwood."

"Of all the places for him to go looking for a job!" growled the Doctor.

"Actually, Torchwood recruited him out of university. His intelligence attracted them."

"Well then why is he called the tea-boy around here?"

"Because he makes us coffee and tea… but he does so much more than that. It's just it's the only thing he does that we acknowledge." Jack couldn't help the guilt in his voice as he admitted that. The Doctor gave him a disapproving look. "I'm trying to bring him into the team, but the last time I really did that, he almost wound up getting eaten by cannibals –long story."

The Doctor closed his mouth ruefully. Jack shifted where he stood, folding his arms across his chest. Hundreds of questions were buzzing in his head.

"What's his name?" he asked, seizing on the simplest of them.

"Ianto." said the Doctor.

"I mean his Time Lord name."

"Ianto." The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Jack's dubious expression, "No really, it is Ianto. Hell of a coincidence that it's a name in Welsh too, but it's true. He's always been Ianto. Well, that's our name for him. His full name's a bit of a mouthful."

"But he's not my Ianto." said Jack, feeling a little sad about that.

"He is. He's no idea of his past. He's Ianto Jones, a human, tea-boy of Torchwood and in love with the insufferable Jack Harkness."

"You think he's in love with me?"

"Why else would he be so angry with you for leaving?"

"Good point I guess."

Ianto turned away from Owen's desk and seemed to feel their gazes on him because he looked up with an almost innocent expression of curiosity on his face. He was clearly bewildered by the fact that the two men were watching him so intently but soon looked away and continued with his work.

"Are you going to tell him the truth?" asked Jack, glancing at the Doctor out of the corner of his eye. The Doctor's brow was furrowed.

"I dunno." he muttered, "I want to, I really want to. But I can't take this all away from him and I know what it's like. I did it once, made myself human. Became John Smith, a naïve school teacher, and when I was forced to become the Doctor again, I hated him, because I wanted to be John Smith."

"Hell of a personality issue." muttered Jack. The Doctor gave a mirthless smile. "Maybe you should, Ianto can make his own decisions."

"Maybe…"

"He might want to become a Time Lord again."

The Doctor's eyes glistened with a lonely hunger. Jack understood that look. The hunger for another one like you, the need for a kindred spirit. But as well as that, the Doctor clearly wanted his son back. He loved his son, it was obvious.

"I've got the fob watch. It's in the TARDIS, in a special safe. I thought it was safer for me to hold onto it, seeing as I knew what it contained. He might've pawned it or something and before you know it, some clever sod would open it and become a Time Lord… or something like that. I really don't know what'd happen." The Doctor shrugged.

"I think you should tell him."

"No. He deserves to believe this life is real. That he is real. Because he is. He is as he would be if he'd been born on Earth. But once you find out something like this… you can't ever really think of yourself as real again. It just doesn't work." The Doctor sighed and turned to Jack, "So… I'd like to just get to know the young man that was my son. If I can't be his father, I can at least be his friend."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I'd rather take it easy for a couple of days. Been a bit of a hectic year… that never was. If I worked for a company I wouldn't be entitled to those owed sick days, would I?" the Doctor smiled, but the humour was forced.

"I won't force you to do what you don't want to Doctor." said Jack.

"Good, and Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't treat him any differently because of what you know now. What I've told you doesn't change him in the slightest. He's still Ianto Jones and he's still in love with you. So do something about it."

"Are you giving me your blessing Doctor?" Jack gave his friend a wry grin. The Doctor chuckled, scuffing the ground with one of his shoes, his hands deep in his pockets.

"I guess I am. And mind you take good care of him Jack Harkness."

"I will. I promise."

* * *

Ianto yawned as he took the lift back up to the tourist office. He hadn't slept properly in all the time Jack had been gone, to busy trying to keep the Hub running and his mind off how Jack had just taken off, like the kiss between them had meant nothing.

He grabbed his car keys and was about to leave, when he paused, thinking.

Jack and the Doctor had been talking about him. Ianto had known that just by noticing how they were openly watching him. What they could possibly discussing about him, he'd no idea. Maybe they were sharing a good laugh over how gullible he was, or how sad for believing that Jack gave a damn about him. It had been all too clear from the CCTV footage of Jack pegging it across the Plass that it was the Doctor that held Jack's heart. Ianto had just been a bed warmer.

The knowledge hurt. Ianto had tried to tell himself that he didn't care, but he did. A lot.

With this thought burning in his mind, Ianto went to the computer in the office and quickly accessed the CCTV footage. If the Doctor and Jack were going to mock him, he at least deserved to know just what it was they were saying about him.

* * *

Something wasn't right. Jack had known that quite quickly, but his thick skulled brain had trouble guessing exactly what it was that was wrong. At length though he realised what it was.

Owen was not the last one to arrive that morning. Owen was always last. Always!

Yet Jack knew that he wasn't last today. And that meant he was a team member short. And the fact that it had taken him so long to note this told him who was missing.

Ianto.

Ianto hadn't taken a day off in his life! So where the hell was he?

Jack became more concerned when he couldn't reach Ianto on his phone. He tried to track it, but came up with nothing. Either the phone was broken, or Ianto was hiding. The latter seemed more likely, but why Ianto was hiding, Jack couldn't fathom.

"Where the fuck's my coffee!" howled Owen when the coffee was an hour late. The Doctor eyed Owen with an infuriated glance, but the other doctor took no notice. Only Jack saw and understood the look. If _his_ son was being treated like a slave, Jack would have punch the asshole doing it to the next century.

"Ianto? You'd better get down here, Owen's going to go homicidal soon." chuckled Tosh into her Bluetooth. There was no answer and Tosh looked bewildered. "Ianto?"

"He's not here Tosh." said Jack with a long suffering sigh.

"Well where is he? I need coffee." whined Owen.

"And are you incapable of making it yourself?" asked the Doctor in a biting tone. Owen actually looked chastened for a second before saying,

"It's Ianto's job."

"Besides, only Ianto can make the right kind of coffee. He's a whiz at it." said Gwen. The Doctor looked a little mollified.

"I don't know where he is. He's not answering his phone." said Jack, "And don't bother Tosh, I already tried to track it." he added as Tosh reached for her keyboard.

"That's not like Ianto at all." mused Gwen.

"Ah, he's probably just pissed at Jack. He'll get over it and come back." said Owen, waving a dismissive hand. Jack put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, to sooth him as the shoulders tensed. He was tempted to hit Owen himself.

"Tosh, when did Ianto log out?"

"At… 11:48 last night. That's odd." Tosh looked up at Jack, "He accessed the CCTV for your office for 11: 20 and onward before he left."

Jack's eyes bugged out and the Doctor's whole body went ridged.

"No, no, no." hissed the Doctor, darting to the computer and staring at the image of himself and Jack sitting, talking. The Doctor straightened up, eyes huge, teeth gritted. "He knows."

"Shit." spat Jack, "Tosh see if you can find him, we'll go looking."

"Jack what's happened?"

"I'll explain when we find him. He deserves the explanation first." said Jack, pausing only to grab his coat and phone. The Doctor and he jumped into the SUV and Jack floored the accelerator. The Doctor would probably have put up a protest if he hadn't been so focused. As it was he was silently seething at the misfortune and pushing away from the dashboard.

"Why would he check the footage?" the Time Lord grit out between his teeth. Jack knew the Doctor was angry at himself for ever saying a word, not at Ianto.

"Probably wondered what we were saying about him or something."

"Huh! Curious as ever. Just like his mother."

"And his father." reminded Jack, finding his lips twitching in a smile. The Doctor gave him a surprised look and then he grinned,

"Yes… just like his bloody father." and he let out a bark of a laugh.

Jack's phone rang and he answer his headset,

"Tosh?"

"Jack, he's at his flat, I tracked him through the city with the CCTV cameras, and he hasn't left yet."

"Thanks Tosh." said Jack, relaxing a little now that he knew where to go. He hung up. "How're we gonna explain this to him?"

"I dunno." murmured the Doctor. "I really don't know."

'_Oh great!'_

"So we'll just wing it?"

"Pretty much." The Doctor rubbed at an eye, then leaned back in his seat, looking apprehensive. He seemed to be trying to meditate or something to calm himself down, prepare himself for this.

Ianto's apartment was on the other side of Cardiff, something which made it all the more impressive that he was able to get to the Hub so early each day. It took them a while in the morning traffic to get there. When they did, all was quite on the street. Jack wasted no time in kicking Ianto's door open and rushing in. The Doctor's hand held his sonic screwdriver in a useless fashion as he followed with a sigh.

Jack was almost afraid of what he'd find as he searched the apartment.

"Ianto!" he called, feeling panic rising up.

"Here sir." came the faint call. Jack followed it like a lifeline and found Ianto in the sitting room, surrounded by photos, documents, and other memorabilia. He was staring down at a photo with a lost expression on his face.

"Ianto…" breathed Jack.

"That's still my name sir… isn't it?" Ianto looked up at the two men, his eyes demanding answers, but also clouded with confusion. He looked like a frightened, stubborn child.

"You've always been called Ianto, Ianto." said the Doctor. Ianto focused on him,

"You're… you're my father."

"No. Not anymore. Your father was a Welshman, born and bred, and your mother was Welsh too, as are you."

"Those are just lies though, aren't they?"

"They're real to you. That makes them real."

"But what if I'm not real? I mean, I'm not, am I?"

"You're as real as we are." said Jack, walking towards the young man and crouching down in front of him. The Doctor did the same. "You're Ianto Jones, the man who can make the best damn cup of coffee in the universe, the man who keeps the whole Hub running without a squeak of a hinge. The man who puts up with all sorts of shit without a word of thanks… the man who I care very deeply about."

"I'm just your part time shag sir." said Ianto, grimacing and looking away. Jack grabbed his chin, making Ianto look at him.

"You're far more than that! And don't you ever think otherwise."

"What else am I supposed to think? You come back from the dead, kiss me and then take off. What were you trying to show with that kiss?"

"That I was glad that I could do it again." said Jack, before kissing Ianto hard. Ianto shoved him away,

"Don't just do that! Don't give up trying to explain yourself and try to get away with it by giving me one of those damn kisses! I want you to bloody well tell me how you feel. And I want you to tell me right now that you're not suddenly more inclined to care about me now that you know what I really am!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean are you not suddenly more interested in me now that I'm suddenly connected to the Doctor? After all, he's your one. He's the person you think about all the time, even when I'm standing right in front of you."

"That's not true." protested Jack.

"Oh really? Not even when we were in bed together were you really with me. I kidded myself because I needed something, anything to chase away the nightmares in my head, but I never had you completely. Part of you was always with him."

"Ianto…" Jack reached out for Ianto and Ianto flinched away, shutting his eyes tight.

"No Jack. You and him have torn my life apart twice now. I don't want a third."

"We didn't mean… you shouldn't have been… it just…" Jack grasped for words and came up empty handed.

"Ianto, look at me." said the Doctor. Ianto did after a few moments. "As far as I'm concerned, my son is locked in a fob watch by choice, and you are a person I've only just met. Those are the facts of it. And both facts are real. You are real Ianto. It doesn't matter where you were born. The fact that you have lived your life since, lived it as you chose, makes you as real as anyone else. You have the complete choice of whether or not to open the watch or continue on."

"But you would like me to open it. Wouldn't you?" spat Ianto, although there was little venom in his tone.

"Yes. I won't lie to you. I'd love nothing more than to have my son back. I love him. But he made his choice. Just like you can make yours."

"What was his name? Your son."

"His full name was Iantosmorashthrimoret."

Ianto and Jack's eyebrows shot up to their hairlines. The Doctor shrugged, "You see why we called him Ianto for short."

Ianto looked away and trembled. "I don't know what to do." he whimpered.

"There's no rush, no pressure Ianto. You don't have to do anything if you don't want it."

Ianto looked down at the photograph in his hands. In it was a man, with dark hair, and familiar eyes; a woman with blonde hair and two children. Both were dark haired, although one, a boy, had almost black hair while the other, a girl, had more brown hair. They were smiling up at Ianto, hugging each other. A happy family.

"This is fake. But I remember the day it was taken. I can't wrap my head around it."

"It's real to you, thus it's real."

Ianto's lips curled in a wry grin, "I think, therefore I am."

"Smarter words were never spoken." said the Doctor with conviction.

"Hard to believe a human thought it up." Ianto's smile widened just a fraction.

"Maybe he had help." shrugged the Doctor.

"Hey! Don't take away our achievements!" scolded Jack, poking the Doctor's shoulder. Ianto chuckled and then sighed.

"I'd say Owen's catatonic about now. Unless he's tried to make his own coffee, in which case he's dead. Although which will kill him first, his coffee or me for touching my kitchen is another matter."

Jack laughed with genuine amusement. "Shall we go save him?"

"I suppose. The Hub won't clean itself… although I need a shower and change." Ianto glanced down and only now Jack realised he was still in the suit from yesterday.

"We'll wait." said the Doctor, and he patted Ianto's shoulder with minimum awkwardness. Ianto nodded and got to his feet, where he paused, looking thoughtful. Then he bent over and picked up a notebook, handing it to the Doctor without a word. He then left the two of them alone. The Doctor waited a few moments until Ianto had disappeared into his bedroom before he opened the notebook. He smirked a little in amusement.

"What's that?"

"It's a Journal of Impossible Things."

"Come again?"

"The Chameleon Arch cannot take away everything. There's always lingering memories in the subconscious. It happened to John Smith too. He drew all sorts of things from my life, and it looks like Ianto has too. Oh look, there's pictures!"

Jack shuffled around so he was looking over the Doctor's shoulder. "Who's the old-timer?"

The Doctor lifted his head, and stared at the wall, a blank expression on his face. "That would be me Jack."

Jack almost flushed in embarrassment. Almost. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I was in my first incarnation at the time. That's the only one who died of old age. Anyway, that would be the face Ianto –my Ianto- would have grown up with. And this, this is his mother, Emann. God she was beautiful. And so strong and stubborn. First love of my life." The Doctor sighed in a wistful manner, looking into space. Jack admired the sheer artistry that had created the image of a woman with high cheek bones, delicate chin, long hair caught up in an elegant twist, with jewels entwined in the hair. Her eyes were sharp, clever and loving.

"And who's this?" Jack pointed at the drawing of a young woman, with dark hair judging by the shading.

"My granddaughter, we called her Susan."

"She's pretty."

"Just like her mother and grandmother." sighed the Doctor, snapping the journal shut, as if looking anymore would cause him pain. Jack put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, offering comfort. The Doctor gave him a sad smile of gratitude. They sat in silence until Ianto came out, dressed in a neat suit, with his hair as tidy as ever. It was like none of the things had been said, or discovered.

"I'm ready to go sir." Ianto's voice was quiet, demure.

"Aren't you gonna have some breakfast?" the Doctor didn't seem to notice how his tone slipped into paternal. If Ianto did, he didn't show it. His face an expressionless mask.

"I'm not hungry. Never am. Shall we?"

Jack sighed. He'd known Ianto wasn't one for food, only eating to make sure his distaste for eating didn't show on his body. Breakfast usually made Ianto sick, so he avoided it with much effort. It was one of the things Jack had learned about him, but hadn't really allowed it to bother him.

Without commenting further they walked out of the apartment. Ianto drove his own car, a new one since Jack had insisted on getting rid of the one that John had killed himself in. Ianto had said nothing about the matter.

"What's wrong with him Jack?"

The Doctor's voice was low, repressing anger and a little distant as he stared out the windscreen, elbow resting on the sill of the window.

"He's… got issues. To be honest I don't know all of them. I know he's borderline anorexic, because he can't stand food, but because he refuses to let anyone find out, he eats with us all the time and that keeps him from falling completely. His obsession with neatness is verging on OCD, and he can't stand anything out of place in the filing system. He hides with his suits, believe me, Ianto in suits and Ianto out of them are two totally different people. Also… he lacks confidence, in every sense of the term."

"He was supposed to be happy." murmured the Doctor. "This is what Torchwood does to people."

"I swear Doctor, my Torchwood is different."

"And yet he's got all these issues and you're not denying that they're related to Torchwood."

Jack grimaced, "There's not much I can say that will help my case or you to feel any better, so I think it's best that we just not say anything at all."

"Fair enough." The Doctor glared out the window the entire drive back and Jack was relieved to reach the Hub.

That relief didn't last long of course.

After taking the lift down to the Hub, Jack, the Doctor and a mute Ianto, found Gwen, Tosh and Owen staring at Ianto like he was… like he was an alien.

'_Oh… just brilliant.'_ Jack's thought rang through his head with such sarcasm, it was like Ianto had said it, had he been up for it.

"You lot saw the footage?"

"Yeah. We did." said Owen, looking at Ianto with a withering look. Ianto meanwhile just walked past them and into the kitchen. After a few minutes the delicious smell of coffee wafted towards them.

"This changes nothing." said Jack, "Ianto's still the same guy he was yesterday."

"No he fucking well isn't! He's an alien." spat Owen.

"Um, 'scuse me? Aren't you a medical doctor?" asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, haven't you done various tests on each of your teammates?"

"Yeah."

"Then you know better than anyone here that Ianto's human as they come." said the Doctor in a tone that stated in no uncertain terms that he thought Owen was an idiot. Owen struggled with his mouth for a moment before snapping it shut.

"Ianto had no idea at all?" asked Gwen.

"None. He wouldn't have ever guessed if I hadn't opened my mouth."

"So… what now?"

"Now? Well that's up to Ianto, isn't it? If he wants to, he can open the watch and let out the Time Lord, or he can continue on as he is. Both choices are real and valid. It's up to him."

"How does a Time Lord become human?" asked Tosh.

"It's a complicated process, via the Chameleon Arch. It's a sorta rewriter of biology, removing memories and the sorta… essence of the Time Lord and creating a new essence of a human, with new memories."

"And it's contained in some kind of watch?"

"A fob watch. And if the Time Lord turned human opens it, they become a Time Lord again. But it's got a perception filter on it so they aren't inclined to look at it. A perception filter is-"

"We have one on our lift." said Tosh, almost dismissing the filter in favour of understanding the Arch. The Doctor looked a little put out, until Jack said,

"Doctor, you are looking at a woman who will actually be able to understand most, if not, _All_ of what you say. Don't waste such an opportunity."

"Oh, well, when you put it that way!" The Doctor all but pounced on Tosh and dragged her to the side and soon the two were nattering in techno-babble that no one, except maybe Ianto, could follow.

A few minutes later Ianto appeared, a tray in hand and he handed them all coffee (or in the Doctor's case, tea) and disappeared down into the Archives without a word. The Doctor paused in his talk with Tosh to watch him leave with a gloomy expression on his face. Jack ached for the both of them, wishing he could do something to help.

* * *

"Can I have it?"

The Doctor jumped a foot in the air, whipping around to see Ianto standing just inside the TARDIS. He looked tired, and the Doctor didn't blame him. The rest of the team had left several hours ago, even Tosh, nursing an overloaded brain. Maybe the Doctor should have saved the technical details of Time Travel for another day.

"Have what?"

"The watch? I'd like to have it." Ianto took another, if little, step into the TARDIS.

"You're going to open it?" The Doctor tried to keep the hope out of his voice, but knew he failed as Ianto looked away, looking shy.

"I don't know yet. But I'd like to have the watch… I think it might be a help for me. I don't know why."

"Well… can I ask that you not destroy it if you chose to leave it? For one, I'm not sure what would happen, and two… it's all I've got left. Not just of my son, but inside that watch is the only other Time Lord left. The others are all gone."

"What happened?"

"Time War. We fought with the Daleks. We lost. Not much else to it. The whole species, the whole planet, went up in fire."

"Except you."

"Except me." murmured the Doctor.

Ianto stared hard at him for a very long time. Then he said,

"You're lonely."

"So are you." replied the Doctor. Ianto inclined his head ever so slightly. "Would you like to open it?" Ianto shrugged, "Are you scared?"

"Yes. If I open that thing, I'll be lost."

"You don't know that."

"If your son was anything like you then I would be. You… you fill rooms with your presence, your intelligence, your… eccentric behaviour. I'm pretty much invisible, even if I was in a cupboard with someone else I wouldn't be noticed."

"What would you be doing in a –oh never mind." The Doctor made a gesture to wait and went to the attic of the TARDIS, which was conveniently right next to the closet. After a quick poke around he found the safe and opened it up with the special code (Ianto's Gallifreian birth date). There nestled in silk from the planet Dorg (pretty place full of idiots who spent all their time weaving) was a silver fob watch. Engraved on the casing were the symbols of Gallifrey and its twin suns. The Doctor took it out and stared at it. It seemed to pulse in his hand, like even in a fob watch, his son's hyperactive nature couldn't be hidden.

Closing his fingers tight over it, cherishing the unnatural warmth coming from it, the Doctor could almost hear the double heartbeat of a Time Lord. His son's heartbeat. The Doctor remembered, when his son was just a boy, how he would lay his little head on the Doctor's chest and listened to the double drumbeat of life. He said it made him feel safe, just like his father's arms did when they held him. The Doctor, who'd been a bit stiff in that incarnation, had smiled and held on tight.

"You really miss him."

The Doctor jumped for the second time and wondered where Ianto had learned to sneak up on people like that. Still he didn't turn around, only stared down at his hand, holding the watch.

"I do. I really do. You've no idea how much."

"I'm sure I don't."

The Doctor took another moment to feel the warmth, having been without it for over two hundred years, then stood up and walked over to Ianto. He held out his hand and pressed the watch into Ianto's.

Ianto held it tight, just like the Doctor had and then opened his fist, looking down at the watch. Then he gave a small smirk,

"Maybe this explains the stopwatch thing."

"Sorry?"

"Oh, you _really_ don't want to know." Ianto blushed, looking away. The Doctor smiled to himself. "I won't destroy it, just so you know."

"I know. But I still needed to say it."

"Of course." Ianto seemed to weigh the watch in his hand before slipping it into his pocket. "Good night Doctor."

"Nighty-night Ianto."

* * *

Of course, Ianto didn't go home, even though he knew he should. Instead he walked along the waters edge of Cardiff Bay all night long, his head spinning as he tried to grasp what had happened to him in less than two days.

Ianto was curious, beyond curious really. He could only begin to imagine what the other Ianto must have seen. Supernova from a front row seat? The birth of Planets? All sorts of wonderful, beautiful cultures? Anything was possible, that's what Ianto had learned at Torchwood, if nothing else.

The fob watch was burning a hole in his pocket. Ianto was reluctant to take it out, because he knew he wouldn't be able to resist that damn temptress called curiosity. He'd pop open the watch and become a Time Lord and god knows what would happen to him, plain old human Ianto Jones?

Ianto knew he'd be lost, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the essence of a Time Lord. After all, he was a mere human. Admittedly a mere human who handled more jobs than was probably sane and did a damn good job at it, but still human. What was a human who could produce the best coffee in the world (he'd been praised to know it for a fact) to a person who could be anywhere and any_when_ in the universe?

'_Cut it out!' _

Ianto jumped at the faint but forceful voice that seemed to echo from a great distance to him.

'_Honestly, enough! Get over your angst and be realistic.'_

Ianto fished out the watch and stared down at it.

'_Look, I don't know about you, but, quite frankly I'm utterly bored with listening to the sadness. It's all I've been picking up for years. Now why don't you try being positive, if you can.'_

"Positive? I'm hearing a voice coming out of a fob watch. What possible reason should I have to be positive?" asked Ianto, not phased at all for some reason.

'… _that is a very good point. I'll leave you to your moping, shall I?"_

"Please do." said Ianto, smirking when there was silence again. He rubbed his thumb over the engraved surface of the watch. It was really a very beautiful thing. A work of art. And the most innocuous (careless?) place to stick your soul into!

Ianto chuckled to himself and pondered his decision. To be human or to be a Time Lord. To risk getting lost, or pass on a huge opportunity.

Ianto sighed and closed his eyes, weighing the choice he'd just made in his mind. It felt like a comfortable weight. He smiled. And his fingers closed around the watch tight.

* * *

So, what do you think? Should I continue on, or leave it there? Let me know!

Night's Darkness


	2. Chapter 2

Oh my God! I've never, ever gotten such a positive flow of feedback. I was nearly swept away, lol! And since a majority wanted more, they get more!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The air in the Hub was like treacle from the tension. Jack was in his office and could be seen pacing, one arm folded across his chest and the other hand pressed his mouth. It was a classic gesture of anxious Jack. He was actually more than anxious. He was worried sick. And a part of him was angry.

Jack knew it was completely unfair that he was angry at the Doctor, after all, Jack had pushed him to talk, and Jack knew the Doctor had never intended for Ianto to ever find out.

Ianto. Jack paused in his pacing and closed his eyes, picturing the young man. Jack could remember the day he'd met the young man. Jack had been told that Ianto would be a useful asset to his team, which had basically meant that the PM had sent him someone who would be able to ensure that decent records were made of everything, something Owen, Tosh and Suzie (or himself for that matter) had never had the patience for.

Ianto had arrived in a suit, exactly on time and with a pair of eyes that had caught Jack in a storm. It took him all of two seconds of looking into the gray-blue to see that this was no mere secretary. There was too much intelligence, too much courage, too much… just too much. Jack had been lost. Then Ianto had blinked, smiled and the storm vanished behind opaque glass. And Jack had never seen the full storm again. Not until Lisa. Then the storm had returned and engulfed Ianto, choking him, making him blind.

That was why Jack hadn't retconned or shot Ianto after that. Ianto had been clawing for something, anything to keep him afloat in the storm. Not that Ianto had ever let it be seen again. However Jack had not forgotten it, and so he made sure Ianto wasn't left out, which had resulted in disaster during the incident in the countryside. Jack could remember cradling Ianto in his arms after the others had gone home while the terrified, battered young man had sobbed himself to sleep.

Jack wished now that he'd paid more attention to the mess Ianto was inside the shell of his suits. He'd only realised how bad his issue with food was the third time they'd had sex, the _third_!! Jack suddenly found himself back in that moment,

_Ianto whimpered as Jack climbed on top of him, kissing him hard, dominating him. Ianto's hands slid under Jack's T-shirt and ran up to his shoulders,__ gripping hard as Jack pulled at Ianto's clothes, eventually managing to rip the shirt off Ianto and he wrapped his arms around the younger man, pulling him into a fierce embrace, hungry for flesh. Ianto gasped in surprise and his eyes, almost child-like in surprise, widened staring up at Jack. At the exact same second Jack shouted in alarm and pulled away from Ianto, dropping him back onto the bed and actually looking at him properly for once. _

"_Jack?" Ianto sounded worried. Jack couldn't answer as he counted the ribs of Ianto's torso in the dim light. He took in the convex between the bottom of Ianto's ribcage and his hips, the muscles defined under white skin. "Jack?"_

"_When was the last time you ate?" Jack demanded._

_Ianto's eyes widened, then he said, "Earlier, with the rest of you. Remember?"_

"_Ok, when was the last time you ate a full proper homemade meal?"_

"_I don't know. What's your point?"_

"_Ianto… look at yourself!"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?" Ianto looked even more alarmed, more confused… hurt. _

"_You're skin and bone!"_

"_Like every other human out there."_

"_But a good number who're the same sort of skin and bone you are come from Africa!"_

_Ianto pushed at Jack's chest, looking irritated, "I thought you wanted to have sex Jack! Not act like we're together or you care about me." _

_Jack stared down at Ianto, feeling anger well up, but he pushed it away, mainly because he knew that would get nowhere, and also because it was clear Ianto regretted the words at once. _

"_Ianto…"_

"_Just forget it Jack! Please. Forget it."_

And Jack had. Or at least pretended to so well that he said nothing when Ianto pushed around his food on his plate, or commented that Ianto's hips felt like blunt daggers in his hands when he cradled them. He'd said nothing as, by stripping off Ianto's suits at night, he came to see the mess underneath them. He'd left Ianto alone, unwilling to push in case he pushed too hard. And yet…

Jack wanted Ianto to put the watch away, wanted him to forget about who and what he once was and to concentrate on what he was now. Jack wanted his Ianto, not some Time Lord who wouldn't be anything like him, would wear his face and make a mockery of it. Jack didn't care about the issues Ianto had, he wanted to be the one to help him get past them, as Ianto Jones, not Ianto-something-something, son of the Doctor, and one of two last Time Lords.

Jack rested his brow against the window of his office, drawing deep breaths to keep from losing his grip. If Ianto could see how deeply Jack was being affected, would he still feel so alone?

* * *

Toshiko watched Jack pace and then stop, his eyes staring at nothing, before his brow was pressed to the glass and he was clearly struggling to control himself. Tosh felt the urge to go up and hug him well up, but she didn't dare. Jack was better off on his own. When he came looking for comfort, she'd give as much as she could.

Looking around Tosh saw that Gwen was staring at her computer screen with a blank expression. The lights were on but nobody was home. Owen was sulking because he'd got no coffee when he'd come in that morning. Or at least, that what he claimed he was sulking over. Tosh knew Owen better than that though. Despite Owen's continuous proclamations that Ianto was only good for his coffee, Tosh knew Owen actually liked Ianto, and had regretted his snide comment about Ianto being nothing but Jack's part-time shag. Tosh knew Owen hadn't meant it, but had said it in the heat of the moment, when he was trying to do what he thought needed to be done. But Tosh also knew the damage had been done.

Ianto had been quieter, and the unsure expression on his face when he looked around the Hub for jobs to do when he thought no one was looking had upset Toshiko. But whenever she'd tried to reach out to the young man, Ianto had pulled away, muttering about getting her coffee or filing that needed to be done. Ianto was too worried about how those around him saw him, how much he was worth in their eyes, out of the fear that if he didn't reach his 'quota' he'd be tossed out on his backside.

Tosh had never forgotten the night Ianto had essentially sacrificed himself for her to escape from the cannibals. The whole time she'd been running, she'd tried to put that fact that they could be killing him at that very moment out of her head. The horror she'd felt when the leader had held that cleaver to Ianto's throat, his muffled screams of terror…

Tosh shivered. The memory was too strong.

Peering into her coffee mug, she wondered, rather sarcastically, if Time Lord Ianto could make coffee as well as Human Ianto. If he couldn't and Ianto did open the stopwatch, they'd all be in trouble. Tosh couldn't work through the night without Ianto supplying her with coffee when he should be at home and in bed.

Tosh glanced at the side of her computer screen. Stuck to it was a photo of the team. But Ianto wasn't in it. He'd been back at the Hub and they'd been out investigating an alien issue and when it turned out to be a false alarm, they'd gone to the beach and Jack had bought them all ice-creams. The photo was of the four of them, with ice-creams in hand and wide smiles on their faces.

Tosh couldn't forget the look on Ianto's expression when they came back, as they explained where they'd been. And the beach hadn't been far off. They could have invited him to join them, and they hadn't even thought of it.

Staring at the photo, Tosh felt a sob push up her throat and she pressed a hand to her mouth, to restrain it. She didn't want some stupid Time Lord taking away what was one of the sweetest boys she'd ever met away. Ianto didn't deserve that.

* * *

Owen looked up at the strange sound. Looking around, he saw Tosh staring at a photo, a hand pressed to her mouth, doing her best to silence her sobs, even as her eyes glistened with tears. Heaving a sigh, Owen stood up and walked over to his friend, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Tosh gave him a grateful smile and set the photo away like it repulsed her. Owen sighed again.

This was crazy! Everyone was moping about over stupid tea-boy! Owen sighed a third time and admitted that the words were completely hollow.

Despite the occasional butting of heads, Owen had to admit (even if it was just to himself) that Torchwood would be buried under its own shit if it weren't for Ianto. Owen had once had the bizarre thought that he'd love to analyse Ianto's brain, see if there was something weird about it. After all, there had to be! Who remembers things with that ease and accuracy that's normal?

Ianto was cool and controlled in a manner that Owen had envied when he'd been trying to get over Diane. After all, Diane had left him willingly, whereas Lisa had been torn from Ianto, twice. And yet he'd come in the next morning and continued with his job. At the time Owen had just considered the incident an unmentionable topic, one that not even he could touch on.

But he'd wanted to, after Diane. He'd wanted to learn how to be able to keep it together. And then Ianto had gotten a nasty scratch from a Weevil a little while after the 'incident' where Ianto had shot Owen in the shoulder.

"_Right, shirt off. And I do not mean that in a kinky sort of way!" Owen kept his tone brisk, doing his level best to be professional, even though he really wanted to gloat. After all, his shoulder still ached from the bullet Ianto had lodge in it._

_Ianto flushed and shrugged off his jacket and then gingerly removed his crisp, bloody shirt. Owen's eyes were drawn at once to the bloody wound that was deeper than he'd anticipated but still not as bad as it could have been. With a clinical air, he cleaned it, although he didn't enjoy the sharp hiss of pain from Ianto as the antiseptic was lashed on as much as he'd thought he would._

_When he was done, Owen drew back and opened his mouth to say something when he did a double take. Since when was Ianto so skinny?! He looked like one of those people that had eating disorders. _

_Ianto seemed to know what Owen was thinking, because he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on as quick as he could. Then his jacket was slid on, which concealed the skinny frame completely. _

"_Thanks Owen." Ianto's voice was soft and he gave the doctor a grateful look as he left the autopsy room. Owen just stared after him, realising that Ianto was not as together as he thought. _

Owen wondered what the Time Lord Ianto was like. Was he as cocksure as the Doctor? Was he as dangerous? The Doctor was Torchwood's No.1 enemy (although that clearly wasn't an issue to Jack) after all.

In any case, Owen knew that if Ianto opened that watch, nothing would be the same. Ianto would leave probably, Jack might go with him and the rest of them would be left alone again. Owen did not want that to happen. He wanted things to go back to the way they'd been before. He wanted the team to be a team again.

Owen didn't like the Doctor one bit.

* * *

The first person Gwen had really met in Torchwood was Ianto. Yes she'd been chasing Jack around, but Ianto had been the one to let her into the Hub. He'd also been the reason she'd gone in instead of turning tail and running for her life after a look down the ominous corridor. Although Ianto had played his part well, there had been a reassurance in his eyes, among the amusement, that had made Gwen feel safer.

That reassurance had continued after she'd accepted the job. Ianto had shown her how her computer worked, given her her codes, and figured out exactly how she liked her coffee and what her preferred cake was without asking her a single question.

Now Gwen wondered how he'd known, and also felt guilty because, aside from Lisa, and the fact that Ianto had been in the battle of Canary Warf, she knew literally nothing about him. Did he have siblings, or were his parents alive? Of course, now that the truth came out, those questions would obviously be answered with lies Ianto had believed, but the intent behind them, to prove that she cared, would have been genuine if she'd bothered to look at him.

Gwen remembered watching the leader of the cannibals taunt Ianto about how long bleeding took, how Ianto had been sobbing in terror as the cleaver was pressed to his neck. If Jack had been a second later…

Gwen could remember cradling Ianto in her arms when the leader had let him go, looking down at his face and seeing how young he was. How did a boy have the eyes of an old man? But at that moment Gwen had remembered that Ianto was the youngest member of the team. A mere boy really. And yet he carried the weight of so many. It wasn't right.

If Ianto opened the watch, Gwen had an instinct he'd be free, he'd be happy. But would he be their Ianto? Gwen knew he couldn't be. Ianto would be lost to them, forever. And Gwen didn't want that to happen. She wanted to see Ianto smile as Ianto. She wanted to do something nice for him for once, to hear him laugh. If Ianto opened the watch, she'd never get to do any of that.

* * *

The Doctor wanted his son back.

The Doctor didn't want Ianto to give himself up for him.

The Doctor cursed his own life.

* * *

The cogwheel rotated out of the way as Ianto walked into the Hub, dressed in the same suit as yesterday. _'Twice in two days,'_ mused Jack, '_the apocalypse must be on the way.'_

Ianto walked up the steps to join Tosh and Owen at their desks. Jack left his office and hurried down to hear Ianto's decision. Gwen abandoned her desk, and the Doctor left the seat he'd taken up near the TARDIS. They gathered around Ianto, waiting for him to speak.

Ianto went pink and looked at the ground, his hand tight around the fob watch. He didn't like the attention he was getting, it was obvious.

"Ianto?"

"What do you want me to do Jack?" Ianto looked up, his eyes searching Jack's. "Do you want me to open the watch?"

"Honestly? No." Jack shook his head. "I don't want to lose you. But… it's your choice."

"I see…" Ianto nodded his head. He raised his hand and stared at the watch in it. He swallowed hard.

"Ianto… please don't." whispered Tosh, "You deserve to live your own life."

"C'mon mate. No alien could make coffee decently." said Owen in a soft voice. Ianto looked up in surprise at the doctor, who gave him a serious look that Jack couldn't identify. Gwen was silent, but her expression told them that she didn't want the watch opened either.

The Doctor sighed, looking broken hearted, "Ok. Ok Ianto, give me back the watch. Forget I ever mentioned this." And he held out his hand. Ianto stared down at the watch and then closed his hand around it.

"Doctor, what would you say is distinctive about humans?"

The Doctor blinked, then said, sounding confused, "I suppose, your curiosity. It's insatiable, for better or worse, you need to know everything you c…" The Doctor's eyes widened at the same time as Jack's, who was also realising the implications of the questions.

Ianto smiled,

"As if I could resist the temptation."

"Ianto no!" shouted Jack, darting forward as Ianto opened the watch. The light burst out, blinding Jack, forcing him to recoil. "Ianto!"

The light vanished in silence and as they blinked their vision clear of spots they found Ianto crouched down on the ground, curled up into a ball.

Jack and the Doctor approached him with caution, unsure about what to do.

"Ianto?" called Jack, feeling his throat close with emotion.

Ianto lifted his head and looked up at the two of them, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Then he grinned.

"Hello there!"

* * *

Ianto stood up slowly, looking stunned, that wide grin still on his face. He squirmed in his jacket, as if trying to stretch it out. He rolled his head around on his neck and then looked around with wide eyes.

"This is weird." he murmured at last, then let out a sharp laugh, "Oh! I'm still Welsh! Fantastic!"

Jack's brain registered those beautiful welsh vowels and his heart thumped painfully. Meanwhile Ianto was still talking,

"I like being welsh, it's nice. Beats being British anyway… oh wait that's a human thought. Oh this is weird."

"Ianto?" breathed the Doctor, staring at him with wide eyes. Ianto looked at him and grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

"Father!" and he lunged at him, knocking the Doctor back into Owen's desk as he clasped him in a fierce hug. "Oh it's so good to be out of that watch. You've no idea."

"I'm sure. You could never sit still for more than a minute." laughed the Doctor, holding Ianto tight. "Oh my boy, my boy, my boy!" They rocked from side to side with the strength of their emotions and hugging, laughing and crying at once.

"Oh Gods Father, the others… they're all gone." Ianto sobbed, burying his face into the Doctor's shoulder. "Gone, gone, gone."

"I know, I know." murmured the Doctor, rubbing Ianto's back. Ianto held on tight while he cried. But Jack was unmoved by the display. The man in front of him had all but murdered Ianto and was now sobbing for other murders like Ianto's meant nothing.

At last the Time Lord Ianto pulled away from his father and smiled at him,

"New face." he murmured, stroking his finger tips over the Doctor's cheek, just like a child would. "But you're not ginger. You always wanted to be ginger."

"I know! At this rate I'll never be ginger. It's not fair!" whined the Doctor, pouting. The pout disappeared at once though being replaced by a smile. "Oh my boy! My boy all grown up."

"My Father all young again." chuckled Ianto, still stroking the Doctor's cheek. At last he let go and turned to Jack. "Hello Jack."

"Stay away from me!" snapped Jack.

"Oh Jack don't be like that." Ianto sighed, "I'm still Ianto."

"You're not my –our Ianto! You're just wearing his face."

Ianto sighed, looking like he was prepared to talk this out. "Jack… oh! The TARDIS! How could I forget you?" and he darted off towards the TARDIS without looking back. He crashed into the side of the TARDIS and laughed as he threw his arms around it as best he could. "I can hug you now, eh old girl?"

The TARDIS' door popped open and seemed to swing invitingly. Ianto laughed again,

"Shameless as ever!" and he ran inside. The door snapped shut behind him. Jack turned to his team. They all looked saddened, disappointed. Jack knew how they felt. They meant nothing to this Ianto. If they did he would have looked at them for more than a second.

The Doctor turned to Jack, "Jack-"

"No! I don't want to hear it! You've got your son back, and now you two can fly off into the sunset or a supernova for all I care!" snapped Jack, feeling the pain in his chest intensify. He was going to regret this later.

"Just give him a chance for goodness sake! He's just had three hundred years worth of memories sent into him. He's overwhelmed. In a little while he'll remember you. He's just not able to focus on anything right now."

"Father! Where's my screwdriver!" yelled Ianto sounding irritated from inside the TARDIS.

"Oh no. he's gonna want it back now." The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and looked at it with a mournful expression.

"Wait, your son owns the screwdriver?" Jack couldn't bring himself to call the boy Ianto.

"He invented it. And the laser spanner he gave me for my birthday. Emily Pankhurst stole it, the cheeky woman. He'll kill me for that."

"Whoa! Your son invented the device that's saved my ass and yours more times than we can count?"

"Pretty much." The Doctor shrugged. He looked at the device with a fond expression. "Whenever I used it he'd come to mind. Always a step ahead, always ready… that's my Ianto. What about yours?"

"Always ready… always a step ahead when he can be. Always reliable. Always there when you need him…" Jack swallowed hard, feeling ill.

"He's still all those things. Our Iantos aren't that dissimilar. The TARDIS wouldn't allow me –and neither would I- to change more than I had to about him. He wanted to be human, but he didn't want to be a different person. So, I set the machine to keep him as much as possible him."

"He's still not our Ianto." sighed Jack.

"You don't know that Jack. You really don't. Just give him time. He'll come down soon, right now he's as high as a kite from the adrenaline rush he's gotten from the restoration. Once he calms, he'll be able to focus on each thing properly."

As if summoned, Ianto came out of the TARDIS shaking out a jacket.

"I found my jacket!"

"Oh no." muttered the Doctor, "Aren't there enough floor length coats around as it is?"

"Hey! I had this coat way before Janice gave you yours, never mind Jack getting his. You stole my look! I'm taking it back thanks." Ianto shook the coat out again and grinned at it. He'd ditched his suit and was now wearing a pair of black jeans, a red silk shirt (Jack couldn't ignore the fact that the top two buttons were undone) and black boots. He now shrugged on a jacket not unlike the Doctor's old leather one, except this was longer, as long as Jack's coat and seemed to be designed to torture a man by shaping Ianto's waist and hips perfectly. Jack hated him for being so desirable and being such a bastard for flaunting his Ianto's beauty in front of him.

"Now, one last thing. Father, my screwdriver please." Ianto held his hand out giving the Doctor an expectant look. The Doctor sighed,

"I don't suppose you could make me a new one?"

"I could, I guess. But your laser spanner is just as useful."

"Yeah… about that-"

"You gave it to Emily, didn't you?" Ianto narrowed his eyes.

"No! She stole it off me!"

"I'm sure." Ianto's voice dripped with achingly familiar sarcasm. Jack felt his hatred grow.

"But she did!" pouted the Doctor.

"Screwdriver please."

"Oh fine!" The Doctor handed it over, pouting like a child. Ianto checked it over and seemed satisfied, slipping it into his pocket.

"And now I'm back in full. Time Lord Iantosmorashthrimoret. Only… this really doesn't feel right." Ianto wiggled in his clothes, grimacing, his brow knotting in bewilderment. "That's weird. I kinda… I kinda want my suit back. Only… they don't fit right. Nothing fits right… I don't fit…" Ianto stared into space for a moment before snapping out of it and saying with a cheerful grin, "Who wants coffee?"

There was no answer from anyone. Ianto's smile fell again. "So you're just not gonna talk to me?"

"We've nothing to say to you." said Tosh, glaring at him.

"Tosh, please. You've got to believe me. I'm still Ianto Jones."

"No you're not. Ianto's nothing like this!"

"Nothing like what? Excited, happy, energetic? How would you know? I've been trying to hide so much in plain sight, what would you know about how I'm like?" Ianto narrowed his eyes. Tosh seemed to recoil. Ianto's expression softened at once, "Oh Tosh, c'mon! I'm still the King of Coffee! I'll prove it now!" and he darted up the steps into the little kitchen.

It wasn't long before the fresh smell of coffee wafted past their noses and Jack inhaled it deeply, despite himself. Tosh began to cry and Owen put his arm around her shoulders.

"You know, you're all acting like you're at a funeral!" grumbled the Doctor.

"We might as well be. Ianto's gone."

"He's not!! How many times will we have to tell you that? Look, I was John Smith for two months! And part of him is still with me. Ianto's been Human for what? 8 years? He'll been more Ianto Jones than I could ever be John Smith."

"That's not good enough!" snapped Jack. "I don't care how like my Ianto he is, I just want Ianto! _My_ Ianto!"

"_Your_ Ianto?"

Jack jumped and spun around. Ianto was standing there, tray in hand, looking surprised.

Ianto set the tray down, and walked over to Jack, staring straight into his eyes. Jack had always admired Ianto's ability to do that. No one else could look him straight in the eyes like Ianto could. No probing, no uncertainty, just staring straight into him. Despite Ianto's bizarre lack of confidence, he'd always been able to look at Jack.

"Your Ianto? You think of me like that? You actually care?"

"I care about Ianto more than I have for anyone in a long time. And I'm pretty damn old! I want him back!" snarled Jack.

"Oh Jack, I'm still here. I'm just… I'm just happy." said Ianto with a soft sigh. Jack backed up a little, "Jack, I was always sad, not because of you, or the others or Lisa… I was just sad. I felt something was missing, but I never knew what it was. I always felt sadness even when I laughed."

Ianto took hold of Jack's hand and pressed it to his shoulder, making Jack's fingers squeeze around it. "See? I'm still underweight. I'm still messed up in the head… I'm not fixed completely Jack. I'm still broken. I'm still your Ianto. I've just found some peace. I've just been given happy memories of a family who I know loved me… I have a family again at long last. But I'm still Ianto Jones as much as I am Time Lord Ianto. Just give me a chance to prove that to you, to all of you. Let me show you your emo receptionist is still in here."

Jack remembered emo receptionist had been one of Owen's names for Ianto for a week and then it had been something else. But the fact that Ianto remembered it, that he admitted he wasn't fixed, touched something in Jack's heart.

Jack allowed his hand to travel over Ianto's shoulder, to touch the soft skin of his neck as he cupped it. Ianto's breath hitched just a little and his eyes, already intense, seemed to get stronger, brighter. Jack searched his face, looking for changes, but saw none. Nothing substantial was different.

"Ianto?" he asked, almost afraid.

Ianto smiled, "Coffee sir?"

Jack couldn't resist. He yanked hard on Ianto's neck and kissed him with all his might, feeling Ianto kiss back with a fervour he would normally reserve for when they were alone.

"Oi! You're not supposed to snog a man's son in front of him!" complained the Doctor, but the amusement in his voice was unmissable.

Jack broke the kiss to smile at Ianto, who grinned at him.

"I'll take that coffee now."

"Of course sir."

Ianto handed Jack's mug over and Jack swallowed a mouthful, almost swooning over the taste. It was as good as it had ever been.

"Well, if the proof's in the coffee, where's ours?" demanded Owen, still regarding Ianto with suspicion.

"Get it yourself Owen!" said Ianto with a smirk, "I refuse to serve anyone who calls me teaboy." Owen looked startled. Ianto grinned. "I make bloody coffee for goodness sake."

The Doctor laughed. So did Jack, but the happiness he was feeling was coming from the fact that Ianto was holding his hand.

"You know what?! Lets go karaokeing!" exclaimed Ianto. "Father, can't we go to Bynias? It'd be brilliant!"

"Oh Bynias! Why not? Lovely planet."

"What? Now?" asked Gwen. She was clearly still reeling from it all.

"Yeah! Bynias, 32nd century! The whole planet's just one big club essentially. Only, it has all sorts of themes. Karaoke is but one of many."

"Go all the way to another planet to listen to a load of sad sods croaking their way through pop songs. We might as well stay here." said Owen, sipping his coffee. He seemed satisfied for now.

"Bynias also has some of the best strip clubs I've ever seen in my long life." said Ianto, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, you would know. The number of times I've had to drag you out of one…" the Doctor shook his head. "And just out of interest, how did you end up working for one of them?"

"A patriot said he liked my ass. That's all it takes to get hired in that one." Ianto shrugged. "I made a fair bit of money if you recall."

"Which you then spent on another strip club!"

"I had to! Those women were gorgeous and I was a hormonal teenager. It was too tempting!"

"I should have just locked you up during that period. The amount of grey hairs you gave me… you wouldn't believe that he's more of a trouble attracter than me." The Doctor grinned at Jack as he slung an arm around Ianto's shoulders. Ianto grinned and blushed at the same time.

"Oh… I think I can believe it. He is quite attractive." said Jack, smirking.

"Can we just go already?" Owen had been trying to get into the TARDIS since 'strip clubs' were mentioned.

"Alonzey! Everyone onto the TARDIS!"

* * *

More soon, I hope! Will Ianto stay with Jack and Torchwood or will he go with the Doctor?

Night's Darkness


	3. Chapter 3

Oh my God! Such a tidal wave of positive feedback. Thank you all!

I'm working on more Ianto fics as we speak (read) so hopefully they'll be up soon.

Until then, enjoy this final part of what turned out to be a three-shot!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"Ianto, mate, I love ya!"

"I know Owen, but I'd rather you kept it to yourself."

Owen slurred something completely incomprehensible and then went back to watching yet another alien sing karaoke. Gwen and Tosh, who were both more sober than Owen, weren't sure where to look as the alien was like a green and blue skinned six foot tall, very well endowed, naked human man.

"Aw, he's singing modern pop! I hate modern pop!" groaned Ianto, covering his ears and twisting away to look at the Doctor and Jack. "It makes my skin crawl. Oh for some Britney! Now at least that was… something."

The Doctor chuckled and swallowed a mouthful of his wine. Jack had settled for more water. He wanted to ensure he stayed sober.

"Ah come on, its not so bad." said the Doctor, grinning at his son. Ianto pulled a face and stuck out his tongue. Jack was tempted to latch on the tongue and not let go. He shook his head. This place must have so much alcohol evaporated in the air that he was getting drunk just by breathing. Wouldn't be the first time.

"I prefer more Classical Music, specifically earth." said Ianto.

"What? Like Mozart?" asked Gwen.

Ianto laughed, "That's Ancient Music cariad. Classical Earthen Music in the 32nd century is stuff you consider recent. Like… like Umbrella! Or Toxic, or… oh! Like Nature's Law. Not to mention stuff that not's out yet, like Britney's third comeback album that actually worked."

"You're winding me up." said Gwen,

"But it's true Gwen. It may be modern to you, but here in the 32nd century its old school. The Bee Gees are considered Ancient by now, aren't they Father?"

"Not yet, that happens in the 33rd century."

"Oh right. My bad." Ianto shrugged and swallowed down another New New New Manhattan. He was a lot better at holding his drink than Owen, who'd thrown himself into a whole new millennia of drinks and been pissed for quite some time.

The alien finished his song and bowed. The host took the mic from him and said,

"Right and now we have a duet by… the Doctor and Ianto, where are they?"

"Oh that's us! C'mon Ianto, lets show em what we've got!" the Doctor dragged his son up onto the stage before Ianto could get a word out. Jack's eyes widened. They were going to sing?!

The music started up and many of the patriots let out sentimental cheers. Jack vaguely recognised the song as being one he'd heard on the radio but beyond that he knew nothing about it. Ianto looked amused and touched.

The Doctor sang first, with a voice not quite what Jack had expected,

"_Deep in my heart, there's no room for crying  
but I'm trying to see your point of view  
Deep in my heart, I'm afraid of dying  
I'd be lying if I said I'm not_

_Welcome in … welcome in  
Shame about the weather  
Welcome in … welcome in  
It will come  
It's a sin … it's a sin,  
Where birds of a feather, are welcome to, land on you..."_

Ianto joined in with a strong, sweet voice that complimented the Doctor's well, despite the different accents.

"_Ya Ya Ya  
Ya Ya Ya  
You've got my eyes  
We can see, what you'll be, you can't disguise  
And either way, I will pray, you will be wise  
Pretty soon you will see the tears in my eyes."_

Ianto took over for the next chorus while the Doctor bobbed his head and grinned his manic grin.

"_As each day goes by, it makes way for another,  
We discover that we're not alone  
And each day we try, the best we can to recover,  
All the feelings that we left below_

_Welcome in … welcome in  
Shame about the weather  
Welcome in … welcome in  
You will come  
It's a sin … it's a sin  
Where birds of a feather, are welcome to, land on you…"_

The Doctor joined in again and they sang with great gusto and feeling,

"_Ya Ya Ya  
You've got my eyes  
We can see, what you'll be, you can't disguise  
And either way, I will pray, you will be wise  
Pretty soon you will see the tears in __my eyes_

_Welcome in … welcome in  
Shame about the weather  
Welcome in … welcome in  
You will come  
It's a sin … it's a sin,  
Where birds of a feather, are welcome to, land on you_

_Ya Ya Ya  
Ya Ya Ya  
You've got my eyes  
We can see, what you'll be, you can't disguise  
And either way, I will pray, you will be wise_

_Pretty soon you will see the tears in my eyes  
Pretty soon you will see the tears in my eyes  
Pretty soon you will see the tears in my eyes." _

Ianto hugged the Doctor tight and they bowed with their arms around each others shoulders. Father and son, together again. _Happy._

"I didn't know Ianto could sing." muttered Gwen, slurring a little.

"How'd you think we got our microwave?" asked Tosh like it was obvious. Gwen pouted as the Doctor and Ianto came back. "Well done you two."

"Thanks Tosh. It wasn't half bad. I like this new regeneration father. Not so stiff as the old one."

"Well… a bit I suppose." The Doctor chuckled, ruffling Ianto's hair. Ianto smiled. Jack wondered if the others realised that he'd smiled more in the past few hours than he had in a year with them. It was depressing to Jack to realise just how little Ianto seemed to need him anymore to make him smile. He would never claim to enjoy clingy lovers, but with Ianto it had been different. Ianto wouldn't have clung onto him unless he knew Jack didn't mind. But Ianto had needed him then anyway. He'd never said it, never shown it, but Jack had known. Always known.

"Hey Jack, why don't you show us what you got?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"My, my, Captain Jack Harkness refusing to show off? The world's turning on its head as we speak."

"But that means south will be north and north will be south and compasses won't work!" Ianto pouted, as if this was a terrible tragedy.

"That would be awful. Imagine. All those hitchhikers, lost forever and ever and ending up being eaten by penguins." sighed the Doctor.

"And then the penguins would read their maps and figure out how to reach civilisation and destroy us all! Maybe we should go back to Cardiff to stop them."

"But it hasn't happened yet."

"But it might."

"But it hasn't happened yet."

"But it might happen and shouldn't we nip this penguin invasion in the bud?"

Ianto and the Doctor stared at each other with serious expressions for a moment, then dissolved into a fit of giggles, clinging onto the table for dear life. Owen laughed with them, despite not having a clue what was going on around him.

"I need air." said Jack, getting to his feet. No one seemed to notice his departure, even with his coat swishing.

Jack walked out of the bar and onto a balcony. He sighed, resting his arms on the railing and staring out at a glittering navy sea.

"It's all too much, isn't it?"

Jack looked over his shoulder at Ianto. Ianto was smiling just a little. Jack looked away.

"I guess."

Ianto joined him at the railing, mimicking his stance. "I know what you're doing."

"Oh?"

"Comparing, contrasting me and what I was yesterday. Trying to figure out how much of Ianto Jones is in here. Or how much isn't." Ianto looked at Jack, "Am I close?"

"I just… you're not the man I…"

"The man you screwed around with?"

"I didn't-"

"No, you didn't mean to, but you did and that was because you wouldn't think. You see Jack, the problem with living forever, is you start to become self obsessed. It's all about you, and what you want because even if you hurt someone beyond belief, what does it matter? They'll die in the end. But you won't."

"Hey-" Jack straightened up to fight with this man, but Ianto didn't change his relaxed stature. Jack's eyes were inevitably drawn downwards to his rear which the coat was framing in a very unfair way.

"Like the view?" Ianto was smirking. Jack clenched his fists, wanting to knock this arrogant ass out of Ianto. "You're like a bloody yo-yo. You were fine with me a little while ago."

Jack had to concede the point. Ianto straightened up and looked Jack in the eyes like he had earlier.

"Figure it out Jack."

"Well what the hell do you want?"

"Me? Oh I want it all." Ianto gave a grin that was just like the Doctor's and his eyes twinkled. He really did have the Doctor's eyes. "I want you. I want the universe. I wanna see it all, meet everybody who was, is and will be anybody. Like… like Eric the Red! I always wanted to meet Eric the Red!"

Ianto pressed his hands against Jack's shoulders, "But right now… I really want to kiss you."

Jack nearly flinched back, but the second Ianto's lips were on his, he was pulling Ianto against him as hard as he could. Within seconds Jack's hands were sneaking under Ianto's shirt, feeling the muscles of his stomach ripple and that familiar concave shape between his hips and his ribcage.

"You're still so thin." murmured Jack, breaking the kiss. Ianto's smile was a little crazy.

"I'm still broken, remember. Think you're up to fixing me?" The seriousness of his eyes told Jack he wasn't joking.

"I'm willing to try." whispered Jack, engulfing Ianto in his arms. The large personality seemed to wilt a little and Ianto felt small in his arms again.

Ianto's nose brushed Jack's neck and his lips ghosted over the sensitised flesh.

"Come on. Let's go back to the TARDIS. I'll see if I can find my old room."

"Sure. Let's go."

* * *

"So… is it all a jumble? Or is it sorting itself out?"

"In my head?"

"Yeah?"

"It's a bit of a jumble, but it's organised chaos. I'm not like Dad, jumping from one thing to another. I go through a process. But sometimes I do it so fast and all in my head that to everyone else, one minute I'm talking about Weevils and the next I'm talking about satsumas." Ianto chuckled, "But it's all there, Ianto Jones and Iantosmorashthrimoret mixed up like some kind of compulsive neat freak of a Time Lord, who likes to invent random machines in his spare time and drink lots of coffee."

"I should probably thank you for inventing the sonic screwdriver. Number of times that thing's save my ass…"

"It is useful." Ianto sighed with contentment as he rested his head on Jack's chest, snuggling against it. Jack's fingers were stroking his back and Ianto was all but purring from it. Jack grinned in satisfaction at the sound.

Now that they were spent and relaxed, Jack took the chance to look around his lover's room.

"This is an interesting… mesh of things."

"You like it?"

"I like the bed."

Ianto grinned, "18th century woodwork, from England. The only thing I bought before I became human. I thought it had class. Father just said I hoped it would attract even more people into my bed. Best thing about it is it's really hard to break."

Jack couldn't help but chuckle. Ianto's lips brushed over Jack's skin, his breath sending shivers up and down Jack's spine.

'_How'd this happen?'_ wondered Jack, gazing at the younger looking man. _'How'd you manage to worm in so deep into my heart?'_

"You know… I'm pretty sure I've got a stopwatch around here somewhere." Ianto gave him a cheeky grin from under lowered eyelids. Ianto had very thick, long eyelashes that framed his grey-blue eyes wonderfully.

Jack reached out and cupped Ianto's cheek, making him look straight at him. "Ianto… why do you hate eating?"

Ianto sighed and pulled his face out of Jack's hand, resting his head on Jack's chest again. "I just do. It's not logical, I know that. But I'm never hungry, and I always feel ill when I do eat. I know its all in my head, but it's so hard to fight. Everything is so much easier when I just do what my body says. But I didn't want anyone to notice so I force myself to eat."

"Well… do you think you could try to like food?"

"I don't know. It's hard Jack."

"Ok… well… maybe I can help you with that." Jack let his voice hint at amorous. Ianto smiled against Jack's skin.

"Maybe you can."

* * *

"I've never felt worse in my life." moaned Owen the next morning as he nursed a hangover.

"I'm sure that's true, but that's what happens when you indulge in an unhealthy amount of alcohol. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself." said Ianto, standing beside his father. They were standing with their hands in their pockets, smirks on their faces. They really did look related, although the unknowing would assume brothers and then concoct elaborate tales of angst and family love to explain away the reason for the different accents.

"Fuck off Ianto." growled Owen, his voice muffled as he buried his head in his arms.

"And just last night you were telling me you loved me."

"I did not."

"Yes you did." chorused the others. Owen flipped them the bird before returning to his moaning and nursing of dehydrated brain cells.

"Anyway, I guess I should be taking you all back to Torchwood, eh?" said the Doctor. He seemed awfully cheerful about it, Jack noted. Why would he be so happy about his son leaving him, after all the pining for him. "Give me a hand Ianto."

"Sure Father."

"Since when do you call me Father? You always called me Da."

"Sorry, human habit." Ianto shrugged. Jack grinned at the amused look on the Doctor's habit.

"A rather… unique to you human habit."

"Well… maybe a little… Da."

The Doctor's face nearly split in two at the force of his grin. Jack wisely grabbed Owen and pulled him out of the way as the two Time Lords started running around like madmen, getting the TARDIS going. They moved as one, sliding back into old practises. The TARDIS was purring, Jack was positive, she was purring her heart out to the two Time Lords.

There was a bump and a crash and then everything was still again.

"Hub sweet Hub, two hours after we left!" laughed Ianto, running over and throwing the doors open. "Well come on! Pick up Owen and get out!"

"I can walk myself thank you!" snapped Owen. Jack let him go and he promptly fell to the floor with a swear.

After some issues with Owen, they were all out of the TARDIS and Jack spun around to say something to Ianto, but the words died on his lips as he realised Ianto was standing in the threshold. Looking torn.

"Well c'mon Ianto! We've got all sorts of things to do!" cheered the Doctor, throwing his arm around the younger Time Lord's shoulders.

"Wait. Ianto, are you going with him?" Tosh sounded hurt.

"I… oh I didn't quite think this far ahead." Ianto grimaced. The Doctor looked a little possessive. "Da…"

"Son?" The Doctor's voice was sharp, almost warning. And yet at the same time, pleading.

"Jack…"

"Ianto?" Jack tried to sound bland, but he knew he'd failed.

"Oh for Goodness sake! Don't bloody guilt trip me, either of you!" snapped Ianto, his eyes flashing. Both men looked chastened. "I… I'm sorry Jack… but I have to go with Da. It's… it's Da."

"But I thought we agreed that I'd help fix you." said Jack in a quiet voice.

Ianto walked up to him and cupped his cheek.

"I meant it. But… he's been alone for so long. And we'll have time too. But Torchwood needs you and my Da needs me." Ianto brushed his lips against Jack's in a tender kiss. "I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I trust you." murmured Jack, catching hold of Ianto's hand just long enough to kiss it.

Ianto hugged Tosh, then Gwen and then shook Owen's hand.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I mean it."

The team nodded in understanding as Ianto joined his father on the TARDIS. They both gave them sweet smiles, before shutting the door. A few seconds later and the TARDIS faded out of sight before them.

Jack sighed, and squeezed Toshiko's shoulder before turning away to go to his office.

Then the TARDIS rematerialised right where it had been before.

Jack whipped around.

The door opened.

Ianto came back out with a wide grin.

"So how long was I gone for?"

"Like… two seconds." said Owen, looking bewildered. Ianto's hair was longer, curly and he looked older. His clothes were different, although the coat was the same.

"Really, score one for Da. We've been travelling a bit longer than that."

"How long?"

"Like… four years." Ianto shrugged.

"Four years!?" spluttered Gwen.

"Oh! I got presents for everybody! Wait there and I'll get them." Ianto ran back into the TARDIS, dodging around the Doctor as he went. The Doctor chuckled as he stepped out, smiling at Jack. Jack saw the change at once. There was a peace, a contentment in those old eyes.

"Thank you Jack." he said in a soft voice.

"For what?"

"For my boy."

"You're welcome Doctor."

Ianto came back out, arms loaded with things Jack had never seen before. He dumped them all on the ground at his feet and locked eyes with Jack, giving him that seductive smirk.

"Coffee sir?"

"Only if it comes with a Teaboy-Time Lord."

"I'm sure I can arrange that for you sir."

"Oh get a room will you!"

"Da!"

* * *

Was that a satisfactory ending? I may do a sequel if anyone's interested.

Night's Darkness.


End file.
